K1 AOS - I-864 RFE initial evidence. Advice please

[Wuozopo 4,293]

 

2 hours ago, CaLi90 said:

I see, I was advised that I still had to file to show what I had earned from the UK but not to file married filing jointly as it would re-tax my worldwide income for the months I had income back in the UK, prior to me arriving.

Your accountant is not very good. You don’t have to show your UK income unless you file a joint return. There is a tax treaty between the US and UK which protects you from being taxed by both countries on the same money. 
 

2 hours ago, CaLi90 said:

If I don't have to file, then my partner is better off filing jointly?

Your partner of course may file Married Filing Separately and you don’t file. BUT she will owe less in taxes if she files jointly with you; get a bigger refund.   There’s a lot to comprehend here but I think you can catch on. I have posted many, many times in the Tax forum and you can find more details there, but I will give some brief info here in your RFE thread.

 

With a separate return, she gets to reduce her income by $12,550 as a standard deduction before tax is calculated. On a joint return, the deduction is $25,100. A joint return has lower tax brackets than a MFS. Your UK income will be reported as world wide income for the joint filers. Reported is not the same as taxed. You are eligible for the Foreign Earned income Exclusion (Form 2555). So she benefits by reducing her taxable income by $25,100 because yours will not be taxed. And you could be eligible to claim $1400 Economic Impact Payment on the joint tax return. She already got hers but you can get yours when you file. If you qualify.

 

Now the caveats. 
You need a SSN issued by April 15 (tax filing deadline) in order to claim the .recovery rebate. You aren’t eligible for a SSN right now. It’s a shame you didn’t get it during that window a K1 can get one. That closed for you mid December. But with social Security offices seeing very few people, it would have been hard to get one anyway. You will be eligible when your EAD is approved.

 

You need a SSN or ITIN to file a joint return. The SSN might not happen but an ITIN is doable with some legwork. You could also file for a filing extension until October if you think you will get your SSN by then and want that extra $1400. Otherwise the joint filing will still be less taxes/more refund than MFS.
 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Wuozopo

[p&g 9]

On 12/30/2021 at 9:27 PM, Loren Y said:

If possible sending tax forms always generates problems because of the amount of paperwork required with full tax returns and all the schedules and accompanying paperwork. If you can download the Tax transcripts from the tax years, USCIS prefers transcripts over returns for the ease of reading them. Helps you out too as you don't have to send as much. But it sounds like you covered it all, seems like it could just be the form wasn't signed or something simple.

Interestingly, USCIS sent us an RFE for my 2020 tax returns including supporting documents (W2s and schedules). We had submitted my tax transcripts for 2018, 2019 (I got a second job in 2019-present), and 2020. I don’t think this delayed our process since the RFE was sent within days of their receiving our I-485. 

[CaLi90 56]

On 1/3/2022 at 4:16 PM, Wuozopo said:

 

Your accountant is not very good. You don’t have to show your UK income unless you file a joint return. There is a tax treaty between the US and UK which protects you from being taxed by both countries on the same money. 
 

Your partner of course may file Married Filing Separately and you don’t file. BUT she will owe less in taxes if she files jointly with you; get a bigger refund.   There’s a lot to comprehend here but I think you can catch on. I have posted many, many times in the Tax forum and you can find more details there, but I will give some brief info here in your RFE thread.

 

With a separate return, she gets to reduce her income by $12,550 as a standard deduction before tax is calculated. On a joint return, the deduction is $25,100. A joint return has lower tax brackets than a MFS. Your UK income will be reported as world wide income for the joint filers. Reported is not the same as taxed. You are eligible for the Foreign Earned income Exclusion (Form 2555). So she benefits by reducing her taxable income by $25,100 because yours will not be taxed. And you could be eligible to claim $1400 Economic Impact Payment on the joint tax return. She already got hers but you can get yours when you file. If you qualify.

 

Now the caveats. 
You need a SSN issued by April 15 (tax filing deadline) in order to claim the .recovery rebate. You aren’t eligible for a SSN right now. It’s a shame you didn’t get it during that window a K1 can get one. That closed for you mid December. But with social Security offices seeing very few people, it would have been hard to get one anyway. You will be eligible when your EAD is approved.

 

You need a SSN or ITIN to file a joint return. The SSN might not happen but an ITIN is doable with some legwork. You could also file for a filing extension until October if you think you will get your SSN by then and want that extra $1400. Otherwise the joint filing will still be less taxes/more refund than MFS.
 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing that with me, that makes complete sense. I think the accountant when they were saying dual status was more indicating non-resident and resident income, but you're right, that is a much bigger deduction for MFJ, so will have a look into the ITIN and do some calculations on my last year's earnings. I know it's a little different as the UK is April to April and USA January to end of December, so I'll have to do some working out on that part too.

 

I did actually get a meeting for a SSN at the office in New York, the problem was that because I got married 7 days after arriving in the US, I was no longer eligible as they said I had used my k1 visa and was now a different status. That's my fault, as I should have planned for that but we wanted to marry soon so we had more time to receive the marriage certificate for the AOS, which in NYC at the time, the officiant told us it was up to 6 weeks. So I know I now have to wait, but I will see if I can get an ITIN, can you confirm I do that with a W7 form, that's what I was reading online but there were a couple conflicting comments on what form to use.

 

Thanks again.

[CaLi90 56]

On 1/4/2022 at 1:20 AM, p&g said:

Interestingly, USCIS sent us an RFE for my 2020 tax returns including supporting documents (W2s and schedules). We had submitted my tax transcripts for 2018, 2019 (I got a second job in 2019-present), and 2020. I don’t think this delayed our process since the RFE was sent within days of their receiving our I-485. 

Ok I see, and did you end up sending your Tax Transcript for 2020 instead? Or how did you respond to the RFE?

[p&g 9]

5 minutes ago, CaLi90 said:

Ok I see, and did you end up sending your Tax Transcript for 2020 instead? Or how did you respond to the RFE?

We originally sent in just the tax transcripts. They then requested W2s and/or tax returns and schedules (which I just realized I stated this a little differently in my previous post). 
 

We followed up with W2s AND tax returns and schedules

 

Here’s the body of our RFE for clarity.

 

Why We Are Writing You 
On June 25, 2021, you submitted your Form I-485. We are writing to inform you that we need more information from 
you to make a decision on your case. Please read this letter carefully and follow all of the instructions below. 
= What You Need To Do 
You must provide the following information in order for us to make a final decision on your case. Please include a 
copv of ALL pages of this letter with your response. 
• The petitioning sponsor, on Form I-864EZ, Affidavit of Support, must 
submit W-2s and/or 1099-Rs submitted to the Internal Revenue Service for the most recent tax year. 
If the petitioner's income cannot be documented on Form W-2 or 1099Rs, the petitioning sponsor cannot 
submit Form I-864EZ to satisfy the Affidavit of Support requirement. 
In order to process your application further, you will need to: 
• Submit a completed and signed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, from the petitioning sponsor. All 
pages must be present and of the latest edition date. 
• Provide the petitioning sponsor's Social Security Number on Form 1-864. 
• Provide a complete and correctly calculated household size for the petitioning sponsor on Form I-864. 
• Submit a complete copy of the petitioning sponsor's Federal income tax return and all supporting tax 
documents (W-2s, 1099s, Fann 2555, and tax schedules) for the most recent tax year. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, CaLi90 said:

. I think the accountant when they were saying dual status was more indicating non-resident and resident income,

But you have no US income to tax; neither non-resident or resident. Somebody that might be here on a visa and working might be filing as a non-resident. It’s a higher rate like 30% for a non-resident alien (NRA). Then mid-year that person got a green card which made them a resident alien (RS). They can file as dual status paying the higher rates for only part of the year and the lower RA rates for part of the year. That scenario isn’t you because you have not been in the US earning from a US job.

 

1 hour ago, CaLi90 said:

and do some calculations on my last year's earnings. I know it's a little different as the UK is April to April and USA January to end of December, so I'll have to do some working out on that part too.

Just calculate the gross earnings that you got from Jan 1 until you moved. And the good news is you just supply a number to the IRS, not any proof like a wage statement. I quite frankly guessed.

 

1 hour ago, CaLi90 said:

I did actually get a meeting for a SSN at the office in New York, the problem was that because I got married 7 days after arriving in the US, I was no longer eligible as they said I had used my k1 visa and was now a different status.

That unfortunately was misinformation from that Social Security clerk and you didn’t know the actual rules yourself. You were eligible married or unmarried for your K1 90 days, but they won’t issue one if you have only 14 days or less left of your K1 90 day entry. So  for 76 days after entry you are eligible.  I also entered  the same time of year as you on Oct 1. Got married 5 days later. Sent off AOS 3 days after marriage. I didn’t apply for SSN until about a week after AOS was sent off. 

 

 

2 hours ago, CaLi90 said:

So I know I now have to wait, but I will see if I can get an ITIN, can you confirm I do that with a W7 form, that's what I was reading online but there were a couple conflicting comments on what form to use.

 

W7, a completed tax return, and certified copy of passport for ID. You need to start a new topic on ITINs in the tax forum. This thread is about your RFE.

 

Or read about ITINs on the IRS website. 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number

 

[CaLi90 56]

25 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

But you have no US income to tax; neither non-resident or resident. Somebody that might be here on a visa and working might be filing as a non-resident. It’s a higher rate like 30% for a non-resident alien (NRA). Then mid-year that person got a green card which made them a resident alien (RS). They can file as dual status paying the higher rates for only part of the year and the lower RA rates for part of the year. That scenario isn’t you because you have not been in the US earning from a US job.

 

Just calculate the gross earnings that you got from Jan 1 until you moved. And the good news is you just supply a number to the IRS, not any proof like a wage statement. I quite frankly guessed.

 

That unfortunately was misinformation from that Social Security clerk and you didn’t know the actual rules yourself. You were eligible married or unmarried for your K1 90 days, but they won’t issue one if you have only 14 days or less left of your K1 90 day entry. So  for 76 days after entry you are eligible.  I also entered  the same time of year as you on Oct 1. Got married 5 days later. Sent off AOS 3 days after marriage. I didn’t apply for SSN until about a week after AOS was sent off. 

 

 

W7, a completed tax return, and certified copy of passport for ID. You need to start a new topic on ITINs in the tax forum. This thread is about your RFE.

 

Or read about ITINs on the IRS website. 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number

 

Ok that makes sense.

 

Yes I went 3 weeks after I arrived and was told by the clerk I couldn't qualify for a SSN because of marriage. She even double checked with her manager who also confirmed this. I thought I would still be eligible but couldn't argue it with them as they were all saying this. Of course it's alot easier with the number issued, but I will now just have to be patient and wait, and see about the ITIN.

 

Ok thank you for the links and info. 👍🏻

[CaLi90 56]

29 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

 

2 hours ago, p&g said:

We originally sent in just the tax transcripts. They then requested W2s and/or tax returns and schedules (which I just realized I stated this a little differently in my previous post). 
 

We followed up with W2s AND tax returns and schedules

 

Here’s the body of our RFE for clarity.

 

Why We Are Writing You 
On June 25, 2021, you submitted your Form I-485. We are writing to inform you that we need more information from 
you to make a decision on your case. Please read this letter carefully and follow all of the instructions below. 
= What You Need To Do 
You must provide the following information in order for us to make a final decision on your case. Please include a 
copv of ALL pages of this letter with your response. 
• The petitioning sponsor, on Form I-864EZ, Affidavit of Support, must 
submit W-2s and/or 1099-Rs submitted to the Internal Revenue Service for the most recent tax year. 
If the petitioner's income cannot be documented on Form W-2 or 1099Rs, the petitioning sponsor cannot 
submit Form I-864EZ to satisfy the Affidavit of Support requirement. 
In order to process your application further, you will need to: 
• Submit a completed and signed Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, from the petitioning sponsor. All 
pages must be present and of the latest edition date. 
• Provide the petitioning sponsor's Social Security Number on Form 1-864. 
• Provide a complete and correctly calculated household size for the petitioning sponsor on Form I-864. 
• Submit a complete copy of the petitioning sponsor's Federal income tax return and all supporting tax 
documents (W-2s, 1099s, Fann 2555, and tax schedules) for the most recent tax year. 

My RFE also stated the returns and supporting documents, but that is what I had sent in the first place and still got an RFE. So will take the advice of Wuozopo, and submit the transcripts, along with the other documents, but without the return and w2s etc.

 

Thanks for your reply 🙂.